sheer

The word "sheer" changes its meaning with the situation, but its main uses are easy to spot once you know them. Most often, it either describes something very thin and transparent, or it adds force to an idea by meaning complete, total, or nothing but.

One common use is for fabric and similar materials. Sheer cloth is light, thin, and partly or fully see-through. A dress, curtain, blouse, or stocking can be sheer if it lets light pass through and does not fully hide what is behind it.

Just as often, "sheer" works as an intensifier. In this use, it means complete, utter, or nothing but. Sheer joy is pure joy. Sheer luck means luck alone, without skill or planning. Sheer carelessness means the result came simply from carelessness. You will also see it with amount or force, as in "the sheer number of people" or "through sheer effort."

Another important meaning appears in physical spaces. A sheer cliff, wall, drop, or slope is very steep, often almost vertical. Here the word gives a feeling of a smooth, direct rise or fall with little to break it up.

There is also a less common verb, especially in sailing and movement, where sheer means to swerve or turn sharply from a course. That sense is much less common in everyday English, so the adjective meanings are the ones most learners will meet first. Whether you are talking about a transparent fabric, sheer luck, or a sheer rock face, the word usually suggests something pure, total, or strikingly direct.